Monday, August 24, 2015

A Step in the Write Direction, August 24, 2015--Short story leads (and notes on self-esteem)

A Step in the Write
Direction

August 24, 2015

Update: These last few weeks
have been a little on the crazy side. August 13 would have been our
55th anniversary, so my daughter, son, and I took flowers to the
gravesite at Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery. So thankful to know he’s not actually
there….On Monday, the 17th, our daughter Patty had rotator cuff
surgery. That turned out okay (although surgeon said there was quite a bad tear)
and she came over our house afterward. That evening and the next morning she had
chest pains so took her to the E.R. and they admitted her with pneumonia. She
came home Thursday morning. Today she began her physical therapy. She’ll be out
of work at least three weeks, then can go back on light duty….My lung doctor
said that carpet was bad for my COPD (especially with just having mold removed),
so last week the carpet was torn up in all the rooms (except two bedrooms, which
will come later) and new laminate tile installed. It is so pretty and, to me, it
makes the mobile home look bigger….Just finished final proofing for new version
of A Step in the Write Direction. Good news is that the
publisher lowered the price from $24.95 to $19.95. As stated previously, this
one will have assignments throughout so it can be used in a classroom, home
school, or writers’ group.

Thought for the Day: Our interim
pastor (Dr. Bill Burch) preached a really good sermon yesterday on low
self-esteem. He said it: 1) paralyzes our potential, 2) destroys our dreams, and
3) sabotages our Christian experience. The point I liked especially was: What
right do I have to despise or belittle someone that God

·Loves deeply

·Esteems highly

·Provides for fully

·Planned for so completely,
and

·Delights in certainly

Song
for the Day:

When I am burdened, or weary and sad,

Jesus is all I need.

Never He fails to uplift and make glad.

Jesus is all I need.

All that I need He will always be.

All that I need till His face I see.

All that I need thro’ eternity

Jesus is all I need.

James Rowe, “Jesus Is All I Need”

Laugh for the Day: During a patient’s two week
follow-up appointment with his cardiologist, he informed the doctor that he was
having trouble with one of his medications. “Which one?” the doctor asked. “The
patch,” the patient replied. “Your nurse told me to put on a new one every six
hours and now I’m running out of places to put them.”

Writer’s Tips:
Leads

The
following are samples of different types of leads you can use for your short
story:

Flashback:

“I’d
spent eight months in preparation for a wedding I now knew would never take
place” (Sheila Boggess, “Forgiving,” Standard, 5/29/88).

Teaser:

“The
buzz of the new electric hedge trimmers cut into Martha’s reverie. She slammed
down the kitchen window against the irritating whine, and for the tenth time
that hour implored, ‘Lord, have I made a mistake?’” (Sara L. Smith, “Newlywed,” Standard,
5/29/88).

About Me

Donna Clark Goodrich, freelance writer, editor, and speaker is a wife, mother of three and grandmother of two. A native of Jackson, Michigan, she has lived in Mesa, Arizona, since 1969. She enjoys teaching at Christian writers conferences. Author of 23 books and over 700 published manuscripts, Donna says, “I write devotional and self-help books to encourage Christians in their daily walk with God, how-to books to train writers, biographies to tell other people's stories, short stories and poetry for readers' enjoyment, and personal experience articles to share how God has helped me through life situations.”
dgood648@aol.com; www.thewritersfriend.net